The men behind Makoni

Revealed for the first time - the men who are abandoning their loyalty to Mugabe, and giving it to the Young Pretender.

Simba Makoni, the Presidential candidate who believes he can take the place of Robert Mugabe and lead the country back to sanity, has been reluctant to reveal who exactly is backing his bid for power. But Moses Moyo, as usual, has no such hesitation. And I'm here to tell you exactly who's who, aboard the Makoni bandwagon.

Everyone knows, of course, that the Godfather of the anti-Mugabe Mafia is the imposing and indeed rather frightening figure of Ex-General Solomon Mujuru, the extremely rich businessman now seen by many as one of the most powerful men in Southern Africa.

But standing with him, and indeed answering to him, are a handful of very important men indeed, men who's future fortune will rise or fall with that of Makoni himself. This is who they are:

Let's begin with the political heavyweights. They include the trio of Vice-President Joseph Msika, Party Chairman John Nkomo, and Politburo Member from Matabeleland, Dumiso Dabengwa.

These three have been showing various signs of rebellion ever since Mugabe ordered them to accept War Veteran Leader Jabulani Sibanda, him of the over-estimated Million Man March, as head of campaigning in the election.

Add to them the following five top intelligence and army officials, who give Makoni considerable muscle on the ground:  Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, Army Commander Valerio Sibanda, Airforce Commander Perence Shiri, CIO spy agency boss Happyton Bonyongwe, and retired Defence Forces Commander Vitalis Zvinavashe.

Finally, from the other side of the fence, I can report that Arthur Mutambara, leader of one of the two Movement For Democratic Change factions, has made the big decision, and is swinging his party's support behind Makoni.

All this, of course, is irritating our gallant President no end. "Zim 1", as his guards call him, has issued instructions that life must be made hell for Makoni and his men. Joseph Chinotimba, deputy leader of the War Veterans, told me: "Traitors should know that Zanu-PF has a history of dealing harshly with their kind."

So the battle lines are being drawn. It is difficult to throw one's personal support wholeheartedly behind Makoni's people when one remembers exactly who they are. Can we, for example, ignore the fact that men like the CIO's Happyton Bonyongwe have blood on their hands?

As I say, it is difficult. But perhaps, if Zimbabwe is to have any real future, we must try.

Comments

[Divha the Godfather]

Well said. THat is spot on. I know I am in the system. Where does Moses Moyo get all this information. Is he in the CIO perhaps?

[Vimbai Mwanaakanaka]

Anyone who can throw some fear into Matibili is my hero today and forever.

[Martin]

Pliz stop fooling already depressed zimbos

[Tatenda Makuvadza]

Vimbai and the your likes are not helping Zimbabwe one bit by promoting tribalism. How does it benefit us to be tribal to a point of wishing others tribes to be subjected to hell? Just as tribal madness unfolds in Kenya we still have our own not learning a thing. WHY?

History will be unkind to us if we continue this. Instead we should be forming smart partnerships across the tribal lines to shed the shackles of poverty and the humiliation we suffer at the hands of foreigners (by foreigners I am not referring to whites only - I am referring to those who for one reason or don't wish us well as a nation). When we cross borders we are all seen as Zimbabweans and suffer the same humiliation irrespective of whether we are Ndebele or Shona. Please I beg all Zimbabweans to work for unity and prosperity and not disunity and poverty. Love you all bros and sisters. Pamberi ne Zimbabwe - pasi ne tribalism.

[Michael Wilton]

Vimbai: you seem to be the product of an outdated and antiquated tribal way of thinking ..... if you actually started using that brain of yours you'd see yourself for the racist you appear to be.

Tatenda: Nicely spoken, and as a White Zimbabwean living abroad, I appreciate you not lumping foreigner and white in the same basket. However I think you need to look closer to home for the core source of the humiliation and poverty ..... Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his ZANLA ... erm, sorry, ZANU-PF party.

Zimbabweans have to unite against the great evil that dominates our country ..... and we have to oust the devil by fair means or foul

[Michael Wilton]

What I have to ask here is that with the likes of Bonyongwe and the others from ZANU-PF in his entourage, what are his plans for the Whites who would love to return to the country they love, but have been unable to do so under the rule of Mugabe?

Are we going to be overlooked as an undesirable part of history? or are we going to be embraced as part of OUR nations future?

[sofiolo]

My wish is that Zimbabweans override sentiments of tribalism. It does not help

[Michael Wilton]

I agree sofiolo, but one of Mugabes most devastating weapons is the ability to create rifts between the Shona and Matabele ..... effectively reducing hopes of Zimbabwe uniting against him.

But, as has been shown in history many times before, ruling by division only works for a limited amount of time ..... the people become wise to it and start uniting regardless of the leaders ever more feeble attempts at holding the rifts he has created open.

That is what Zimbabweans have to fight against ..... the rift between Shona and Matabele, the rift between 'black' and 'white' ..... they must all be destroyed and unified so that Shona, Matabele, Black and White no longer exist except as a heritage, being Zimbabwean must be the goal.

[Basil Lunga]

For all we care, what we need for our painfull remedy is anything. Remember the saying that people would vote for a donkey than vote for Zanu/bob. Simba/Mandla Makoni could be our immediate answer because the rift in MDC is ill-timed. Lets remove bob and cross the bridge when we get to river.

No matter how dark the night is the sun will rise in the morning.

[Peter Maswera]

Uri horo Moses

[Max Ngwenya]

Fellow Zimbabweans, THE TIME IS NOW! We have sunk in excess of 10 long years of our very short lives in poverty and misery. There is no hope of any change under Matibili. Basil, I couldn't agree with you more. Give Makoni a chance and break this hopelessness!

[Bismark Phiri]

Can the Makoni Party do the following urgently for us to believe them:
1. Renounce Zanu pf membership
2. Let his other men com out in open
3. Tell us your name , slogan , logo etc
4. Tell us your plans to resucitate Zim
Lastly if Makoni does the above in time go on a nationwide campaign esp Mash rural we in urban r reddy 2 axept him if he com clear.

also if both the oppositions (Tsvanson + Simba )(Mtambara is a Zanu sponsored spoiler) unite and choose one Presidential Candidate even afta wen yhey hv registered.

[Ruth Ngwane]

The men behind Makoni
Do you have a name? You either dont know or just plain lying. Simba is not stupid and will not risk his lfe challenging Bob just because 3 Ndebele men are unhappy with Bob placing war vet Jabulani Sibanda above them to coordinate the million march. Thats absurd. DONT YOU KNOW THE MEN BEHIND MAKONI ARE MUJURU, ZVINAVASHE, MAJOR MBUDZI AND IBBO MANDAZA. How come all these men are not included in your list. I really think you are either dull or up to some mischief of some sort. Finally be courageius tell us your name. Ruth kaNgwane

[Ruth Ngwane]

The men behind Makoni
Do you have a name? You either dont know or just plain lying. Simba is not stupid and will not risk his lfe challenging Bob just because 3 Ndebele men are unhappy with Bob placing war vet Jabulani Sibanda above them to coordinate the million march. Thats absurd. DONT YOU KNOW THE MEN BEHIND MAKONI ARE MUJURU, ZVINAVASHE, MAJOR MBUDZI AND IBBO MANDAZA. How come all these men are not included in your list. I really think you are either dull or up to some mischief of some sort. Finally be courageius tell us your name. Ruth kaNgwane

[Bryce Curry]

Interesting comment from today's ZWNEWS:

"Ever since Simba Makoni declared his candidature at the beginning of February, two questions have dominated. First, is he a genuine candidate or a Zanu PF stooge? Second, will he win? The answers are, in summary: yes and no: yes and no.

Makoni is not Mugabe’s puppet. He is not there as a deliberate plant to muddy the electoral waters, to benefit the incumbent. The insults heaped on him since he came out into the open come straight from the heart. Whether you prefer the label of ‘prostitute without clients’, or the memorable description of him as being "a frog puffing himself to the size of an ox", the insults were spat with genuine venom. But despite his own protestations, and the queue of provincial chairman lining up to publicly distance themselves from him, Makoni is not his own man. He has no powerbase of his own within Zanu PF. Whatever his personal qualities, the official positions he has held in the party have been in the gift of Mugabe’s patronage. On his own, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

People not unconnected to the Mujurus have been assiduously fundraising for him in recent weeks. Joice Mujuru and all the others can declare their loyalty to Mugabe and the party until they run out of breath, but that means nothing. Makoni is a front for the Mujuru faction. He is a Zanu PF stooge – just not Mugabe’s stooge. He is a stalking horse. Which brings us to the second question: will he win? To ask this question is to miss the point. A stalking horse is a candidate put forward to mask the candidacy of another person, for whom the stalking horse will then withdraw. The last thing Makoni’s backers would want is for Makoni to win. Makoni’s task is to weaken Mugabe. Either through a significant reduction in Mugabe’s share of the vote in the presidential poll, or by building a sizeable rump of disaffected ex-Zanu PF independent MPs, or both, Makoni’s job is to crystallise Zanu PF opposition to Mugabe, not replace him. Mugabe's successor will be decided later in the smoke-filled rooms of Jongwe House. Makoni is unlikely to win the presidential poll. But he doesn’t have to win to succeed. He is part of a much longer game."